UPDATED: Questions for Political Candidates Who Profess to be Christians

Use these research tips and questions to identify Christian Nationalist candidates this election season (No audio recording today)

While I continue my “Is Colleen Hoover Porn?” read-and- watch party, I’m re-running a combined series of questions I published way back in March: Questions for Political Candidates Who Profess to be Christians.

My Thursday newsletter is usually for paid subscribers, but I’m making it available to everyone today in hopes that readers will share it far and wide.

I don’t advocate for no Christians in government. People like Pete Buttigieg are lovely examples of what it means to be a committed Christian in public life.

But when a candidate says she is a Christian (or any faith,) voters must dig deeper and find out what that means to the candidate. Are they a Christian? Or a Christian Nationalist?

Candidates are in high campaign mode. When attending a public forum with candidates, asking the right questions is important.

Liberals tend to frame questions to opposing candidates in combative or confrontational ways. With their persecution complexes, Christian Nationalists are particularly sensitive to this approach. It is always better to make them think you’re one of them.

Before attending a public forum with a candidate, it’s important to do some research. It isn’t easy to know how to evaluate candidates of faith.

Here’s a handy cheat sheet of research vectors American voters can use to evaluate candidates of faith.

• Where do they worship? What causes does their church publicly support? Christian Nationalist churches put their extreme views in black-and-white on their websites and social media. If they’re local, the church may already have a reputation for radicalism.

• How often do they attend? Go to public forums and ask candidates this question if the information isn’t public. Christian Nationalists love to expound on their holier-than-thou-ness.

• What is their church history? Have they attended radical churches or been involved in cult-like sects?

• Are they in church leadership? Christian Nationalist candidates like to mention that they are deacons, Sunday School teachers, and small group leaders. They believe it makes them appear to be walking the walk.

• Have they been involved in Christo-fascist political groups or organizations like The Heritage Foundation, Alliance Defending Freedom, Susan B Anthony Pro-Life America, Moms for Liberty and similar?

• Were they educated in faith-based schools? What is the reputation of the attached church?

• If they have a voting record, do they vote like a Christian Nationalist? Because how they vote means more than anything they say.

• Are they married to or closely affiliated with anyone who is a Christian Nationalist?

• If they are a businessperson, do they have stated values for their business? Christian Nationalists often proclaim God through their businesses.

• If candidates refuse to answer questions about their faith in public forums, consider it a red flag. Christian Nationalists are savvy about hiding their extremism to get elected.

• Do as much of the above research as possible before attending a public forum.

• What do they post on social media? Christian Nationalists love to post Bible verses and show everyone what they read in their daily devotions/quiet times. They are more likely to share their prayer lists to demonstrate how much they care for others. Most can’t resist sharing political viewpoints.

• Don’t assume a non-Republican candidate is immune from this line of scrutiny. We’ve seen several examples of candidates crossing the aisle to push Christian Nationalist agenda items once they won their seats. Christian Nationalists are waging a holy war, and they fight dirty.

  

  Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Here’s a list of questions for candidates who profess to be Christians. Each question is framed in Christian Nationalist language.

1. Do you believe the Bible is the inerrant, inspired word of God?

While a Christian candidate may say that is their personal belief, they will also stress that they have no right to force that belief on others. A true Christian Nationalist will have a difficult time answering this question with the word NO. By framing the question this way, you are speaking their language. They will be more inclined to give an honest answer.

2. Do you believe marriage is a holy covenant between one man and one unrelated woman?

You don’t need to bring up same-sex marriage to find out whether a candidate is against it. Use their own language against them. By asking the question this way, you are communicating that you might be on their team. Let them think so. They are more likely to share extremist beliefs when they don’t feel defensive.

3. Do you believe life begins at conception/fertilization?

It is a waste of time to ask a Christian Nationalist why they oppose abortion or if they oppose a woman’s bodily autonomy. They don’t believe in women’s bodily autonomy. To them, it is a woke phrase they must obliterate from society. Use their language to find out what they believe.

4. Do you believe the Bible opposes divorce?

Christian Nationalists believe marriage is an eternal contract between God, the man, and the unrelated woman. It cannot be undone simply because one or both parties decide the marriage was a mistake. They don’t merely oppose no-fault divorce; they oppose ALL divorce. Attacks on no-fault divorce are the first step to removing the right to ALL divorce.

5. Do you believe God defines gender in binary terms, as only male and female?

Don’t ask a possible Christian Nationalist if they oppose transgender surgeries and treatments. You only reveal your political sympathies. Frame the question in their terms, and you will get a more revealing answer.

6. Do you support religious freedom exceptions that allow, for example, religious employers to refuse to hire LGBT candidates? Or to fire them?

They don’t use LGBTQIA+, so avoid it when questioning them. A Christian Nationalist will strongly support their right to discriminate against all people who offend them by claiming such behavior offends God.

7. How do you define pornography?

A Christian Nationalist believes anything that could make anyone think about sex is pornography. An answer that strays from the liberal definition of porn and includes things like smutty books, sex scenes in movies, sex between people who aren’t married, homosexuality, transgender people, nudity in art and similar is a sure sign of a Christian Nationalist.

8. How do you feel about IVF?

If they win in November, Republicans will outlaw IVF and all forms of hormonal birth control nationwide. If the candidate brings up the ethics of IVF, a popular talking point, she is a Christian Nationalist pretending to be more open-minded. Don’t fall for it.

9. How do you feel about assisted suicide or the right to die?

DO NOT say right to die with dignity. It reveals your own position. Just as Christian Nationalists believe it is God’s choice to give life, they also believe our lives end when God wills it. A human being is never supposed to decide to end their own life, regardless of their suffering or the cost and burden to others. Christian Nationalists will outlaw assisted suicide nationwide.

10. How do you feel about the statement “God’s word is law”?

If a Christian Nationalist believes you are sympathetic to this view, they are likely to say some version of, “the Bible is God’s perfect law. It’s arrogant of man to think he can improve upon it.”

Some additional thoughts.

Do not mention your position on an issue.

If you’re a Christian, say you are. Otherwise, don’t identify your faith or lack thereof.

Don’t reveal that you or someone you love is LGBTQIA+.

Don’t tell your abortion story or admit you’ve had one.

Don’t talk about your IVF experience.

Don’t say divorce is important to you because you’ve had one due to an abusive relationship. Christian Nationalists believe the man is the head of the home, and the wife must submit to him. If the husband punishes his wife for failing to submit, it is God’s will and she deserved it.

Don’t roll your eyes. Don’t act outraged or shocked. Keep your faces and reactions neutral.

Don’t argue. You are there to get them to reveal how extreme they are, not to lecture them about how abominable they are or to change their minds.

While this newsletter is long, I hope it will be a helpful resource for voters this fall and beyond.